PICK IT UP - 2 - 3 - 4

I attended a week long telesummit earlier this month. I listened to 4 different speakers each day. Needless to say, by Friday evening my brain was on information overload. The following week I went through all my notes, highlighting the major points that were important for me. Then I tried to decide just where to begin applying all my new found lessons. One session was entitled, "5 Secrets to Help You Feel Like a Million While You're Making a Million". I was intrigued by the title as making my first million is still a LONG ways off, so making myself feel like a milion in the process sounded inviting! One of the setbacks of being a virtual assistant is that you are sitting all day long at your computer, with little time to be up and about. Thus, producing an image of bigger proportions than one would like to obtain. This has been a constant battle over the last several years for me, so I listened closely to what Roberta Mittman, Acupuncturist and Virtual Wellness Coach, had to say. In short (very short terms) here are the tips she gave... 1. Eat to Refuel--food is information and medicine for your body. Aim for 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. 2. Sleep to Renew--get the rest you need. Have a pad and pen by the bed so you can jot down those ideas and thoughts that prohibit your sleep. 3. Move to Recharge--Roberta shared some good ideas with a pedometer, resistance bands, an exercise ball, and interval training. 4. Think to Empower--too much on your plate? Set boundaries so that you can accompish what needs to be done. 5. Build your team--have some accountability put in place so that your goals can be met. Do these things with a friend, a coach, or trainer. I've decided to take Roberta's advice and try a few things myself. There is much more to share with you regarding this topic. If you are interested, I can expound on each of these 5 secrets, or tips and we can spur each other on! let me know if you're up for it. I would love to have you as part of my accountability team! All you have to do is write your comments below and hit the "post comments" button.

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Remember as a child how you could imagine anything you wanted and life was absolutely grand? It was fun to dream of the life we wanted to be a part of and we were so invincible! Nothing could stop us from our dream world! As adults I think we often forget to allow the child within us to continue to explore and dream beyond our wildest imagination. We get stuck in a box where we create four walls around us to protect us and to comfort us; where we can truly be ourselves when no one else is looking. The problem with our box is that it allows our imaginations to dream only so far. We don't like to climb out of our box because we might get hurt. We might get laughed at. We might not succeed outside our box. It can be a scary world out there. So we tend to stay in our box and just nurture our dreams. Isn't it great to be able to do all those things inside your box and know you're safe? Not really. Part of stepping outside our box allows us to grow as individuals. We can dream the biggest dreams and never see those dreams come true because we haven't allowed ourselves to take the risk and grow. Something I've learned in running a business is that you have to pursue those dreams. The farther you go outside of your box, the more you learn what is all available to you, if you just take it, or at least try it. You don't have to go outside your box alone. In fact, I suggest you find a mentor who can walk outside with you. Someone who can help you see the pitfalls before they occur. Someone who can help you dream what seems to be the impossible and will hold you accountable to make it possible. Life becomes adventuresome when you take the risk of stepping outside of your box. It really can be a lot of fun!

FINDING A NICHE (part three)

We're almost done! The third part of the process of finding your niche is to interview who you believe your ideal client is, and/or receive testimonials from friends and realtives who have known you well. See what they have to say and if your niche comes through their words. My husband confirmed my thoughts one day when he announced that he knew what my niche was. "You're an event planner!", he said. After hearing his reasoning for his assessment, I admitted that my thoughts had been the same. I had business associates and friends who also confirmed my thoughts and ideas. Allow yourself time in this process. I took nearly 3 months to really think it through. I didn't want to start something that would only lead me to starting over 6 months later. I searched out the market to determine prices, and I am now working on revamping my website and social networks. It will probably take me another month or two (possibly longer) before I have everything in order. I will conclude my series of finding your niche with one important suggestion for you and some resources that I believe would be most helpful for you. I suggest starting with a coach or mentor. Find someone who is familiar with your work, or who specializes in working with small business owners. Your coach should be able to help you dig into your past and find those skills you have forgotten about. They should be able to direct you through steps of growing your business, and leading you to resources that can be of great value. Paige Stapelton and Brian Stark of Authentic Marketing are also coaches that can guide you in helping you take that niche and market who you truly are. www.authenticmarketingmadeeasy.com. Referrals Institute has a variety of classes that will take you to the next level in the search of finding the RIGHT referrals for your business www.referralinstitute.com. Karyn Greenstreet from Passion for Business has some great ideas and tips in marketing and building your business. Check out her words of wisdom: http://www.passionforbusiness.com/blog/tag/why-marketing-fails-series/ (Series-one post per week-continues until late August) http://www.passionforbusiness.com/blog/problemwithniches/ http://www.passionforbusiness.com/blog/oneproject/ http://www.passionforbusiness.com/blog/website-startup-what-do-i-need-for-my-new-website/

FINDING A NICHE (part two)

In my last post I encouraged those who are determining what their niche is to write their story. The second step is to take a long hard look at your past. Some of this will already be revealed in your story. I encourage you to also take a good look at your job history. What things did you excel in? What didn't work so well? What were some good times, what were some bad times? What lessons did you learn? Asking yourself these questions and listing the good, the bad, and the lessons learned in each of these jobs should overlap in certain areas. Seeing this will help you determine what it is you do best. In doing these two exercises I learned what my passion and drive was. I learned what I really enjoyed doing. I learned that the skills that I had acquired began as early as my teen year. Write down your fears and facts as well. Look at how the facts you know to be true can overpower the fears that hold you back. I would suggest finding a coach or memtor to help you walk through this. Compare your findings with your story and see what major points rise aove the others. In my next post I will give you some resources that I know could be of help to you.

FINDING A NICHE (part one)

One of the things I learned the first nine months of my business is that there were so many services I could offer as a virtual assistant that it made it difficult to zero in on one particular thing. When my networking group would ask what type of client(s) I was looking for my typical answer was "anybody". I was looking for "anybody" who didn't have enough time and needed the extra help, "anybody" who was afraid of the social networks, "anybody" who needed help organizing. My tag line is Bringing order to the chaos of YOUR world! I figured "anybody" could fit that--even parents who worked 40 hours a week and didn't know how they were going to prepare for their teen's graduation party. As time went on I learned that asking for "anybody" didn't help those who wanted to help me. Anybody essentially meant "nobody". It was hard for me to determine who "anybody" was myself. I was also overwhelmed with the vast majority of tasks I could handle. I generally am the "Jane of all trades" in administrative work. I wanted to narrow that list to those things I really excelled in and enjoyed. I began my quest for learning what my niche was. There's a lot of information to share with you so I will break this up in two or three posts so that you can think about each step: There are three things that you can do to determine your niche. The first is to write your story. This could be in letter form to a friend, a relative, or to no one in particular. It can be a testimonial of who you are, where you're from, what brought you to where you are, and where you see yourself in the next 5-10 years. List those times in your life that were turning points which helped you make your life's decisions. When you're done writing your story, check back with Virtually Speaking for the next step.

THE CELEBRATION HAS BEGUN!

I'm celebrating today! I can honestly say that ACO Virtual Services has been open for one full year! The doors opened July 7th, 2009, to be exact. In celebration of my first year, I am offering a 50% discount on the designing of business cards and brochures. If you're interested you can contact ACO Virtual Services, sb@acovs.com, (put the word CELEBRATION in the subject line)and I will be more than happy to meet your needs. Check out the flyer on Facebook: ACO Virtual Services page for all the details. I remember being so excited and nervous at the same time when I started ACO. I gave my networking group a thorough introduction to my business so they would know what I would be doing. They were just as excited for me! During this first year I gained several clients who hired me basically for projects here and there. I had a few who used my services for months at a time. It has been a learning experience. I knew that I wanted to provide services which allowed me to use my creative side as well as my organizational abilities, finding systems that allowed offices to work efficiently. I loved the idea of doing so many different projects for others. Not a day went by where I was bored with mundane office work. I met many different people and became special friends with some. Some jobs paid, others were done on a bartering basis. I learned how to handle a client crisis. I learned what I was really good at, and what people loved to come to me for. I've had to educate others on what a virtual assistant is and does. It has definitely been a year of education and growth. So where is ACO headed now? ACO is expandng in the area of event planning. I will focus on helping speakers/coaches who need administrative assistance as well as the leg work of setting up their speaking engagements. I am also reaching out to couples who are planning to be married, but are working with very limited budgets within our present economy. I have been meeting several people from what I call the "wedding mafia" group. Photographers, florists, candle makers, caterers, coffee shops, hotels--all people that I can work with in setting up events. I am also attending classes that are helping me sharpen my skills in the area of design and marketing. Classes begin July 12th and conclude in October. I'm looking forward to the changes and growth that will come as a result of these trainings. Keep your eyes open for future changes in my website, http://www.acovs.com/, (goal date of October, 2010) as well as special announcements on my Facebook page. I want to thank all of my business associates, friends and family, for their support and encouragement. I also want to give special thanks to all my clients for helping make my first year a successful one. It truly has been a pleasure and a blessing to get to know you and to work with each of you!